According to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of worldwide deaths from measles fell 74 percent between 2000 and 2007. This is largely due to vaccination campaigns all over the world that made the number of deaths fall from 750,000 to 197,000.

Moreover, measles deaths in the Eastern Mediterranean region, which includes countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Sudan, dropped by 90 percent, from 96,000 to 10,000 deaths, beating by three years the United Nations' goal of cutting measles deaths in that area 90 percent by 2010.

The founding partners of the Measles Initiative: the American Red Cross, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.N. Foundation, UNICEF and the World Health Organization are behind this revolutionary campaign. The report appears this week in publications of the CDC and WHO.

Measles is highly contagious and kills one person for every 1,000 or so infections, according to a report from the BBC. Children need two shots, one before their first birthday. The chief difficulty in eradicating measles is getting the vaccine to every child. That’s why measles has long been a leading cause of death of young children globally and still kills more than 500 a day. But health officials estimate 11 million deaths were avoided in the decline.

"This achievement is a tribute to the hard work and commitment of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region to combat measles," Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO director-general, said in a statement. "With only two years until the 2010 target date, I urge all countries affected by measles to intensify their efforts to immunize all children against the disease."
But although more than 3.6 million lives have been saved due to increased vaccination coverage, measles is still one of the leading killers of children worldwide, with an estimated 540 children dying each day from the disease.

The highly contagious virus is spread by coughing and sneezing, close personal contact or direct contact with infected nasal or throat secretions. The virus remains active and contagious in the air or on infected surfaces for up to two hours. It can be transmitted by an infected individual from four days prior to the onset of the rash to four days after the rash erupts.
Global health officials say the hot spot is India, where eradication efforts lag the rest of the world. According to the latest figures released by the World Health Organization, measles deaths in India have been reduced by 67 percent during the past eight years.

Meanwhile, the global fight against measles is facing an acute funds crunch. "Currently the shortfall stands at $176 million for 2009-2010, of which $35 million is urgently needed for 2009. During these tough economic times, it is important to remember that prevention is always more cost effective in the long run than treatment," officials from the Measles Initiative said.